One hundred and six days is what it took for me to prepare for this moment:

One hundred and six days of hard work and dedication.

Sweat. Tears. Pain.

One hundred and six days days of successes and failures.

Motivation. Strength. Passion.

One hundred and six days of balance.

Was I perfect during those one hundred and six days? Absolutely not.

What I was: consistent.

Left: firstphoto sent to SoBoss - December 2015

Weight: 143.0

Waist: 28in

Hips: 43in

Right: after pre-judging at the NPC Southern Colorado - April 30, 2016

Weight: 128.8 (show day, lowest weigh in 127.4)

Waist: 24 (measurement taken 6 days before show day)

Hips: 37.5 (measurement taken 6 days before show day)

Peak week.

You cannot prepare for this.

It is was a whirlwind for me.

My macros changed daily, along with my emotions.

One minute I would feel completely ready for the stage. But, you could ask me ten minutes later and I would completely retract that thought.

What in the world was I getting myself into?

Was it still possible to back out?

No.

I was committed.

I pushed through the tough moments.

I overcame.

I conquered.

I believed.

I trusted.

Last posing session with my coach during peak week.

During peak week, I stayed busy. Keeping routine is important during this time.

My workouts decreased, but my water and sodium did not. I was hydrated and feeling good. My body was not sore. Show day was approaching and my emotions soared in every direction.

Excitement. Nerves. Fear. Accomplishment.

Morning before show - one last posing session, light bodyweight circuit, fifteen minutes, to get my blood and muscles flowing.

Night before the show. One coat of tan.

One hundred and six days. It was all becoming so real. I had done everything I could do - all that was left was to present what I had worked so hard on.

Sleep was crucial but my mind and body had other plans. I probably only slept 3 hours. I laid in bed, trying not ruin my tan. My mind was restless. I browsed social media. I counted sheep. I could not for the life of me get the rest my body and minded needed. I crawled out of bed at 4:45am to eat my first meal and pump-up. I felt bloated and I had stomach cramps (from female problems...lovely timing). I felt like I was retaining water from not getting any rest. I was surprisingly calm though.

Morning of show.

As you all can guess, my boyfriend was super excited to be woken up at 5:00 a.m. to me eating sweet potato and steak followed by a pump-up session.

I tried to keep my humor up, this helped me push my nerves to the back of my mind.

Hair and makeup with Kelli at 6:00 a.m.

I chose to not go with the competition hair and makeup team. This is definitely a personal choice. I found it more relaxing to have Kelli come to my hotel. This way I was done before check-ins and did not have to worry about rushing to get it all done before getting on stage. Definitely kept my stress levels down.

(Kelli was a recommendation from my coach. She lived in the area and owned her own salon. She was willing to do on-site services! If you happen to be in Colorado Springs, use to her! She is the absolute best and sweetest ever! Plus, everyone was obsessed with the work she did.)

As you can imagine, competition day is unpredictable and you may not know exactly when you get to go on stage because the competition hosts may be running ahead of schedule or behind. For this reason, I opted to just have it done before arriving to the venue. I had a straightener, comb, and some other makeup handy in case I needed to do touch-ups.

Depending on how you prepped and your coaches instructions, everyone has different show day routines and meals. You see a lot of rice cakes, a lot of peanut butter, candy and honey.

I do not know the science behind it all but I was pretty excited about my show routine. I was drinking water and hydrated unlike many other competitors. I got to eat things like sweet potato, steak, chicken, deli meat, rice cakes, fat free redi whip, peanut butter, reese's peanut butter cups, and pop tarts.

As a first time competitor, I'm not going to lie, it all felt strange to me. I felt a bit uncomfortable and sometimes like I didn't belong. Everyone around me was on a team, surrounded by a group of people it seemed like. And if not, they all seemed very aware of what to do. Since my coach hadn't arrived yet, I was trying to follow her protocol as much as possible. But, I didn't see anyone else pumping up...weird I thought? I didn't want to be the odd duck out doing it which is why I ventured into an empty hallway to do my pump-up.

If you don't have a coach, talk to people! I learned everyone is friendly! Make friends! And, if you don't want to, that's okay! But, do not be afraid to ask questions. Ask the people who wear badges or ask other girls in bikinis! You'll learn everyone seems to be a bit unsure of when things are happening or how, even if they have competed before. I know it is hard. I was terrified to talk to people. I was terrified that I was doing it all wrong, even when my coach showed up, I was still terrified. That never changed.

When my coach arrived she helped me put my suit on. We glued my boobs into place. I used stuffing from a $4.99 pillow from Target to make them look enhanced.

I got my heels on and we continued to wait.

I'm pretty sure I got touched up by the tanners at least 5x throughout the day. That is what they are there for.

I did not use a cup to pee in and had no issues ladies! So, for all you ladies about to compete it is not necessary! When I needed touch-ups for my tan it was from sitting, or my excessive hair rubbing the tan off.

My coach and her fiance went and found seats while my boyfriend kept me company. Soon I realized there was like no one in the waiting area. Had everyone gone backstage? Did I miss my class? Crap.

No, no. Girls were beginning to get touched up and figure was not even on stage.

Remember to breathe ladies! I think I forgot this part.

I had a little bit of wine to calm my shakes, although once on stage I think I should've opted for 3 shots of tequila because I still shook with nerves. Almost falling during my individual posing routine.

Backstage.

They provided weights and bands to pump-up.

Girls were squirting honey down their mouths. This seemed so strange to me. Plus I do not even like honey that much, so thank goodness this was not a part of my show day routine.

Everyone backstage is nervous.

You are not alone in this.

Someone backstage will line you up and even on stage, they had someone out there to make sure we stood in the right places. It can't get easier than that. *haha*

If you can overcome your nerves and just live in the moment, do it - today is the day to show off all your hard work - everyone told me this but I couldn't. My nerves and anxiety were too powerful.

I wish I had just gone on stage and owned it. I wish I could've performed the routine I practiced but I let me nerves overtake my body and mind. Try your very best not to let this happen.

However, if it does, it is okay!

I wasn't the only one to mess up posing. I wasn't the only one shaking. But, I didn't let this defeat me. There were girls beating themselves up for not getting first call-outs at their first show. You cannot do this. Being on stage for the first time is scary, especially if you weren't a stage performer of some sort growing up. I moved on. I got a little better each time I was on stage. I wasn't great but I got up there and that is more than many can say.

Enjoy every moment you can!

After prejudging there is more waiting.

My boyfriend and I left the venue for a bit to kill the time.

When we got back, I got my tan touched up once again.

Then we lined up for finals.

This occurred pretty much exactly how prejudging occurred. Although, there was a guest poser who went on in-between figure and bikini which caused us bikini girls to be waiting backstage for much longer than expected. We were all tired and ready for our post show meals. Many girls only craved water because they had cut it out (again, so thankful this wasn't me)!

Everyone says the judges know how you're placing from prejudging. But, either way I tried to get up on stage and improve my posing even if it didn't effect my placements.

I didn't place.

Was I disappointed? Yes.

I had worked hard for one hundred and six days. I put in the work and I could tell I put in more work than girls who did place. Perhaps it was my posing. Perhaps I wasn't stage lean enough!? Whatever that means. Perhaps they wanted a softer look and girls with no visible abs or butt. I do not know what they wanted. What I do know is that judging is subjective.

I was extremely happy with my physique.

I accomplished my goal.

I was a winner in my eyes even if not in the judges eyes.

So you better believe I deserved those post show treats!

I enjoyed well over 3,500 calories the night of my show. I highly recommend not doing this. I did not stop when I was full. I kept going. Although I did not get sick, I believe I could've prevented a mindset that stuck with me the upcoming week.

I knew going into my post show meal that my body was exhausted and hungry. I had been dieting for one hundred and six days. I knew I shouldn't over do it and over eat. Yet I did it anyways. I knew after my meal I shouldn't keep eating but I had a few more snacks on the car ride home. My stomach hurt. It was cramping. I will not lie about that. I did not get sick but I was in pain. I woke up very bloated the next day but still felt pretty lean! :)

To be honest, even if you go in with a certain mindset of how you will do something or want to do something, you cannot prepare for that moment. I think this is especially true if you are a first time competitor.

I couldn't control my wants and my desire to fill my body with a surplus of food it felt it needed. I wasn't strong enough in that moment. Do I regret it? No. I enjoyed the food. But, once I ate it there was nothing I could do. So whatever you decide to do post show, just enjoy it. If you happen to over eat, it will be okay. Drink your water and get some sleep.

Photos above are my physique the day after my show! Up 3lbs from stage weight.

I enjoyed some more yummy food (as pictured below) and a rest day from the gym. The following day my reverse diet began...to read more about how the beginning of my reverse diet went click over to the previous post or continue scrolling down on this page.

If you have any questions regarding my peak week, show day or anything else regarding my prep and reverse diet please comment below! Do not hesitate to reach out to me as I would like to be as open as possible about all aspects!